Market manipulations have long been a topic of discussion among investors and there is no shortage of stories where some of the leading influencers in a power position have been part of such conspiracies. Crypto space even though fairly new to the traditional market has managed to acquire the world’s attention. 

The DeFi dominated space has managed to become one of the trending topics of discussion among various social media platforms including Twitter. Where <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/defi-evolution-and-current-trends/">DeFi</a> already has billions of dollars invested in the market and is literally paving its merry way into a decentralized future. It doesn’t come as a surprise to see institutional giants taking a prominent interest in the field. 
<h2>Influence for Power Over the Market Goes Up for Bet</h2>
With the increased rush in the buying volume from the loyal following of the Reddit group WallStreetBets, <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/discord-bans-wallstreetbets-the-subreddit-fueling-gamestop-surge/">GameStop</a> was just the beginning of what came out to be a stand-off among the top influencing parties in the trading market. However, the shadowed question comes in the hands of who holds more power, i.e. who holds more assets.

Institutional investors have become more consistent participants when it comes to running in the race for power. Manipulating the market for their own gains seems to have become as common as the corrupt nature of centralized authorities. 

Institutional investors take the most advantage when it comes to the cryptocurrency prize coming down. Scott Minerd, Guggenheim Investments’ global chief investment officer, has shared his thoughts in a tweet stating:

“Bitcoin’s parabolic rise is unsustainable in the near term, vulnerable to a setback. The target technical upsides of $35,000 have been exceeded, time to take some money off the table.” 

With this tweet, he clearly points out that investing in BTC is <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/guggenheim-cio-says-bitcoin-not-having-enough-institutional-demand/">not a good idea</a>. Retail investors came under the influence of his tweet and started to sell their Bitcoins. This is exactly what the crypto whales and the institutional investors wanted. Despite this tweet, analysts noted that BTC whales kept on buying them as the price dropped. Moreover, MicroStrategy recently bought a total of 70,784 bitcoins and added them to its wallet. This was executed when the price of Bitcoin recently went down in the second week of January. 

Therefore, to put it straight, these institutional investors are the crypto whales who want your BTCs on sale. Because they want retail investors to get discouraged and sell their Bitcoins. A profit for the latter one means people will move away from institutional investors to buy bitcoin, something that they don’t want. 
<h2>WallStreetBets Fights Back</h2>
WallStreetBets took the stand and made it a point to give a <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/the-wallstreetbets-drama-proves-crypto-is-the-best-investment-alternative-for-the-common-man/">reality check</a> to the crypto whales and institutional investors. In its Reddit group, WallStreetBets have 6.7 million degenerates. And it influenced most of them and hyped up the game for GameStop.  Soon GameStop and other similar stocks became a battleground for bullish retail traders. This proved that “influencers” is not the word only for institutional investors. The tables can turn. 

This surge in the price of GameStock made Robinhood, a free-trading app, spark a serious row by restricting users from trading GameStop. This made investors shift their attention to the other side-the crypto industry, and the upward road for GameStop had to stop. To add more to it, this <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/crypto-leaders-opines-on-robinhood-fiasco-importance-of-freedom-in-market/">restriction by Robinhood</a> made Bitcoin and the crypto market suddenly soar toward $1 trillion, making the story turn again. This step by the trading app is a clear indication that someone simply doesn’t want anyone else to take over the market and manipulate it. These entities in the story are the institutional giants, who themselves have been shaping the market for their profit. 

The game became even more controversial when <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/googles-massive-removal-of-infringing-negative-robinhood-reviews/">Google went a step ahead</a> and removed all negative comments about Robinhood from the app, which somewhat inclines in the favor of the institutions. Google did not want any opinions to get shaped against  Robinhood, as this might make things slip away from the hangs of crypto whales and the institutional influencers. 

Amidst this chaotic situation, CoinMarketCap went ballistic and listed WallstreetBets on the top of its page, over Bitcoin. Even though the page clearly states that it is a joke, this might be an indication of WallStreetBets entering the crypto space. Moreover, the GameStop hype is a flashback to how Dogecoin witnessed one of the fastest <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/dogecoin-surges-by-90-nearing-its-ath-amid-wallstreetbets-drama/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surges</a> in the crypto industry.
<h2>The WallStreetBets Drama Highlights Unethical Practices of Institutional Giants </h2>
The entire WallStreetBets drama made us realize how crypto whales or the institutional investors can even take the unethical road when it comes to manipulating the crypto market. WallStreetBets took a stand against the institutional investors by making it clear that things can go downside for them as well. 

<a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/are-crypto-whales-silently-gobbling-all-the-btcs-and-manipulating-the-crypto-market/">Manipulating the market</a> to crash for their own gains to maintain their desired position of power over the leading crypto assets has finally come to a stand-off in the favor of retail investors. The entire battlefield is a reflection of how easily the market can be dominated if a community is set on it. 

The massive influence of <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/news/dogecoin-falls-under-the-reddit-hype-crash-ahead/">SatoshiStreetBets</a>, potentially the same people WallStreetBets, stormed over the crypto space in a matter of hours. The profit-making mind should be open to investment and trading opportunities, however, institutional giants have formed the nasty habits of accumulating power over retail investors. The crypto community, although new, has turned the wind in the opposite direction, taking a strong stand for the community as a whole. A market with billions of dollars invested in its core and possibly leading the future of finance and technology is as much in need of freedom from centralization as it needs mass adoption.

WallStreetBets Takes a Firm Stand Against Institutional Investors

WallStreetBets took the stand and made it a point to give a reality check to the crypto whales and institutional investors.

Meghna is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Journalism &amp; New Media specializing in  Print Journalism. She is currently working as a content writer for Agio Support Solutions Pvt. Ltd. She aims to provide quality content and strategy in the field of cryptocurrency and work with digital marketing platforms to deliver brand-specific strategies.

WallStreetBets Takes a Firm Stand Against Institutional Investors

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